Locking device for wire gates.



No. 836,800. I PATENTED NOV. 27, 1906. P. E. BOLSTAD.

LOCKING DEVICE FOR WIRE GATES. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 2e, 1906.

' www# j rHE NaRRls PEYERS so., wAsmNafaN, n? c.

PAUL E. BOLSTAD, 0F LAKE MILLS, IOWA.

LOCKING DEVICE FOR WIRE GATES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 27, 1906.

Application led May 26, 1906. Serial No, 318.880.

To at?, whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, PAUL E. BoLsTAD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lake Mills, in the county of Winnebago and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking Devices for fire Gates; and I do hereby declare the i'ollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved locking device for wire gates; and to this end it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claim.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure I is a viewy in elevation, showing a portion of a wire fence, a wire gate, and one of my improved gate-locking devices applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line x3 x3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is an en larged vertical section taken on the line :1:4 of Fig. 2.

The numeral l indicates the fixed gateposts of a wire fence, and the numeral 2 indicates the wires of said fence.

The gate, as shown, is made up of a plurality of wires 8, attached at one end to one of the posts I and attached at their free ends to a movable post or rbar 4, which latter is preferably round, as shown.

The numeral 5 indicates a crooked locklever that is intermediately pivoted at -6 to the top of one oi the gate-posts and is provided at its long end with a laterally-bent hook 7, that is adapted to be engaged with one of the wires of the gate. This lever, it will be noted, is mounted for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane; but the long free end thereof is capable of sufficient vertical movement to permit of the engagement of its hook 7 with the gate-wire and also the disengagement of the said hook from said wire.

The numeral 8 indicates a looped rod or link, which is bent to form a large eye, that is adapted to engage with the upper end of the loose gate-bar 4, and is also bentl to form a looped stem portion that is passed through and pivotally connected to the free end of the` short arm of the lever 5. The looped stem of the said looped rod or link is adapted to embrace approximately the entire portion of the short arm of the said l'ever 5.

When the lever 5 is approximately in the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the eye portion of the link 8 is capable of sufficient vertical movement to enable it to be freely placed over the upper end of the post 4 or to be disengaged therefrom, and the position of said lever enables the said link to be engaged with said post when the upper end of the said post is farther from the adjacent post 1 than shown by full lines in the drawings. Secured to the lower portion of the right-hand post l isa fixed eye or looped rod 9, with which the lower end of this loose post 4 1s adapted to be engaged. When the lower end of the loose post 4 is engaged with the fixed eye 9 and the eye of the link 8 isengaged with the upper end of said loose post 4 and the lever 5 is then moved into the position shown by full lines in Fig. 2, the wires of the gate will be drawn taut. The hook 7 of the lever 5 being then engaged with the upper Wire o the gate, the said gate is locked in its closed position.

In view of the fa ct th at the lever 5 is mounted for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane any lateral pressure on the gate will simply impart a slight pivotal movement to said lever, but will not bend the said lever or tear the same loose from its pivotal support. In practice I have found that a lever mounted to move pivotally in a vertical plane will be very much damaged. by lateral pressure on the gate. g

The device described, while extremely simple, is of small cost and is found to be highly efficient for the purposes had in view.

IVhat I claim is- The combination with the fixed gate-post of a fence, of a flexible gate having a movable post attached to its free end, a fixed eye or loop at the lower portion of one of the fixed gate-posts adapted to receive the lower end of said movable gate-post, a lever pivoted to IOO in presence of two Witnesses.

PAUL E. BOLSTAD.

Witnesses:

, JOHN H. TEIGEN,

DAVID OLSON.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature 

